The girls, who were rescued by the Rayagada police on Saturday night suspecting it as a trafficking case, were released on Sunday after proper verification.
While verifying the identities of the 21 girls and three men in their company, the police got to know that the girls were going to Bangalore to work in a company, Sai Export, with the recommendation of District Employment Officer of Kandhamal.
On Saturday night, on a tip-off, the Rayagada police led by Sub-Divisional Police Officer SDPO Suresh Chandra Jena had conducted a raid on a lodge at Muniguda town suspecting an incident of women trafficking. The police rescued the girls and detained the men who had come with them.
At first, the girls could not tell anything fearing the police, but later the men during interrogation showed the girls’ identity cards and recommendation letters from the Kandhamal administration. The police contacted the Kandhamal district administration for confirmation and were satisfied with the answers, Jena said.